For the past few weeks, the Dupont Circle Metro station has had no cooling ventilation at all (it broke. Surprising,I know). It’s hotter than hell down there, and it’s cooler outside the station than in it. Rather than succumbing to the D.C. Metro fatalism, we write letters, asking when it will be fixed. The response:

Dear [Mike the Mad Biologist]:

Thank you for your email.

The chillier that serves the Dupont Circle and Farragut North stations is out of service, due to a broken condenser line under Connecticut Avenue. We anticipate repairs will be completed by August 1.

I hope this helps and please contact us again should you require additional assistance.

I hope this is correct–they’re giving themselves through Friday evening to fix it. But part of me thinks August 1st is the ‘date’ equivalent of a base ten number–it’s what you say when you don’t have an answer.